Sanitation & Hygiene Policies - How to create an Enabling Environment for Government Acceptance and Ownership?

The global programme Sanitation for Millions (S4M) aims at creating and improving sustainable access to safe sanitation. Currently implementing in Uganda, Pakistan and Jordan, the programme aims at developing policies together with the partner ministries to ensure sanitation and hygiene measures are effectively institutionalised.
For instance, S4M is planning to develop a school assistants system to help pupils with special needs in schools in their daily school lives, which includes creating a barrier-free environment also with regards to sanitary facilities. The inclusive approach should be institutionalised at policy level together with the relevant political stakeholders.

To ensure the sustainability of this system in the long run, we seek the government's buy-in and the politician's acceptance and ownership. However, these systematic changes often develop slowly. Procedures, rules and allocation systems need to be adapted and translated into long term programmes.

What are your experiences in cooperating with the respective stakeholders at policy level?

Re: Sanitation & Hygiene Policies - How to create an Enabling Environment for Government Acceptance and Ownership?

Hi Alice
Please explain how the government collaboration has been set up. Are these countries receiving funds from GIZ or BMZ? If so how much are they receiving and over what period? What then are the commitments taken and are there action plans for studies, assessments and implementation? What are the targets - rural, urban? And are there international collaborators involved?
Regards

Re: Sanitation & Hygiene Policies - How to create an Enabling Environment for Government Acceptance and Ownership?

thank you for your questions.
The collaborations are set up throught bilateral GIZ programmes who collaborate since many years with the respective partner ministries.
The funds for the programmes come mainly from the BMZ. In our case, S4M partners through the bilateral programme ILEPS with the Ministry of Education in Jordan, focusing on urban seetings. Our inclusive approach is co-funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

We plan a needs assessment, stakeholder analysis and trainings for the future school assistants for children with special needs.
Through a nationwide stakeholder event, we will engage the relevant political decision-makers to adapt the policy recommendations we develop based on the needs assessment.

I look forward to hearing more comments and thoughts on this and also on the more general question of how other sanitation programmes take WASH to the policy level.

Re: Sanitation & Hygiene Policies - How to create an Enabling Environment for Government Acceptance and Ownership?

I am trying to help you find answers (and to encourage others to write in this thread here, too), but I am a bit lost. What do you mean by "how other sanitation programmes take WASH to the policy level"? Perhaps this question is too broad, could you perhaps break it down a bit into more specific questions?

Re: Sanitation & Hygiene Policies - How to create an Enabling Environment for Government Acceptance and Ownership?

I had not browsed through existing threads before writing the questions, so thank you for the advice and for the sources as well.
Kindly find a link to a sofa session "Sanitation for Millions" held at the Stockholm World Water Week on how we collaborate with our partner ministries on sanitation and hygiene measures in schools and basic health units at policy level:
vimeo.com/283650496

I would be curious to hear how other sanitation programmes collaborate with partner ministries (Health, Education, Water, etc.) on developing and institutionalising sanitation- and hygiene-related policies. I hope this makes my question more specific?